Preparedness

“Every day Illinois residents face natural, technological, chemical and manmade hazards that can -potentially become disasters. Even though the probability of you or your family being injured or killed in a disaster is very low, it is extremely probable that your lives will be impacted. Utilities may be interrupted for hours or even days; your home, workplace, or school may be damaged or destroyed; roads and highways may be closed; and stores may be closed due to damage or have shortages of the items you need. For the reasons, it is extremely important for you to prepare in advance for disasters.” -Illinois Emergency Management Agency (www.illinois.gov/iema/preparedness/pages/default.aspx)

In its most basic meaning, Preparedness is being in a state of readiness. In a broader perspective, Preparedness is an overarching term encompassing the actions, plans, and resources that should be made or arranged in advance of various types of emergencies and disasters. From forming memorandums of understanding with fellow stakeholder agencies to proactively educating college students about fire safety before an incident occurs, there is no substitute for Preparedness when it comes to prevention and mitigation. Therefore, this Preparedness repository contains resources on topics such as severe weather preparedness and fire safety to Emergency Operations Plans and MOUs.

The Illinois School and Campus Safety Program provides awareness and preparedness training to enhance organizational capacity to plan for, respond to, and recover from an emergency or disaster. As such, the program partners with other entities invested in safety, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, the State Terrorism & Intelligence Center, New Mexico Tech, and others. The Illinois School and Campus Safety Program is a partnership between the Illinois Terrorism Task Force and Western Illinois University. The program is administered by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board Executive Institute at Western Illinois University.